Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 7, 2014

5 new additions swell S"pore"s billionaires club to 26 members

SINGAPORE — The billionaires club in Singapore has five new members, taking the number of people on the list to 26 this year, according to the latest Forbes Singapore rich list.

Among those appearing for the first time include property magnate Chua Thian Poh, whose Ho Bee Land spent US$400 million (S$495.3 million) buying commercial property in London. He ranked 23rd.

The other new entrants to the billionaires club are: Shipping magnate Chang Yun Chung (ranked No 12); budget hotel pioneer of Hotel 81 fame Choo Chong Ngen (22); the Tay family best known for its chain of OG departmental stores (25); and investor Oei Hong Leong (26). Forbes Asia said in a statement yesterday that the aggregate wealth of Singapore’s 50th wealthiest is now US$96.9 billion, up from US$80 billion in 2013.

Property tycoons Robert and Philip Ng, the brothers who own hotel and mall conglomerate Far East Organization and Sino Land, remained at the top of the list, with their net wealth expanding by US$2.2 billion to US$12.8 billion. The duo added to their riches amid an expansion of their property empire in Australia, with a buying spree of prime properties in Sydney and Perth.

Mr Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of City Developments, and his family remained at No 2 with a net worth of US$7.8 billion, up from US$7.1 billion in 2013. The Khoo family of the Goodwood Group of Hotels added US$300 million to their wealth and retained third spot on the list with US$7 billion.

Other big gainers on the list include reclusive paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang of the Wuthelam Group, with his fortune jumping US$1.1 billion in the past 11 months to put him at seventh in the list. Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin also saw his wealth grow by close to US$1.6 billion to US$4.2 billion due to the climb in value of shares in the social networking company. Channel NewsAsia